Life's Soft Screaming
by SilverstarsEbonyskies
Summary: Sam and Danny hate each other.Years later,Danny's married to Valerie and hasn't seen Sam since.He's perfectly happy until Sam shows up in his life again.Tucker falls for her and Valerie becomes distant.How will these lives coexist once more?CompleteSumIns
1. Chapter 1

I think there must be something wrong with my brain. I have an overload of ideas that just won't leave me alone…So anyways, yes, it's yet another story. I hope you like it.

Shameless Advirtising: I've got other stories if anyone's interested.

**Summery:** Through certain circumstances and misunderstandings, Sam and Danny have grown to hate each other. Sam transferred to a different school and Danny hasn't seen her since. Now he's rich, handsome, and married to Valerie, who still doesn't know his secret. He's perfectly happy, despite the chaos. That is, until Sam comes back on the scene. She's been raped and kicked out of her home by her parents who have disowned her. Tucker has fallen in love with Sam, Valerie is becoming distant, and Danny and Sam still hate each other. How will these lives co-exist when they've been so torn apart?

Disclaimer: Perhaps not owning Danny Phantom has damaged my psyche…perhaps I'm just insane by nature…One thing I do own is my verse. You steal it and you die.

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Life's Soft Screaming

Ch.1

Phantom sped through the air, performing spectacular acrobatic feats to avoid the glowing red rays of ectoplasm shot at him by no other than the famous Red Hunter. One of the floating cubed guns was knocked off course by Phantom's own green ray, spinning and accidentally shooting the Red Hunter's hoverboard. The hoverboard unbalanced and swerved toward the ground, diverting the Red Hunter's attention for the smallest fraction of time to get it under control. By the time the Red Hunter looked up, Phantom had disappeared.

"Dammit!" She screamed in frustration, giving the landscape a once over before landing on the ground in a dark alleyway. The technology peeled away from her and vanished, turning the Red Hunter into Valerie Fenton, head of the Fenton Corp. Weapons Specialty Unit. She quickly left the alleyway to the sunlit street. As she walked home, she grumbled irately under her breath about damn ghosts who couldn't take a fight.

Valerie stopped at an average house on the corner of the street. It wasn't anything special, although it was pretty spacious for two adults and a kid. She smiled at the sight of the dwelling and the good memories it held. It was a symbol of her happiness, the one place where she could act like a normal person and care for her child and be with her husband like normal women did.

She inhaled the sweet scent of the blooming flowers, letting their fragrance envelop her senses and wash her troubles away. The cool breezes wafted around her, making the hair that escaped her ponytail flutter prettily around her face. The vibrant sun was setting, turning the sky into a dazzling painting of colors. Of course, the most wonderful thing about the day was not the picturesque beauty of the outside of the house, but what lay on the inside. Opening the door, the smile became wider as she saw her husband, Danny Fenton, playing with their only child, Lily. It was heart warming, and just what she needed to see after a stressful day at work and another complete failure at her attempt to capture Phantom.

Phantom was possibly one of the most aggravating ghosts she had ever met. He always slipped through her fingers, and in spite of every tactic she used he remained as elusive as ever. Her reasons for catching Phantom had changed, however. In fact, she didn't really mind that much about how he 'ruined her life' with that ghost dog of his. In some odd way, he was partially responsible for her marriage with Danny. If he hadn't helped to knock her off of the social pyramid, then she might have never even become friends with Danny. No, her reasons were completely different this time…

"Mommy?" Lily called, knocking Valerie out of her musings.

"Yes sweetie?" She answered, sending a smile her way.

"Why were you standing there?" Lily's head was cocked cutely to the side, like Danny usually did when he was confused. Her aquamarine eyes looked up at her questioningly and her ebony hair hung in their pigtails. Valerie didn't think any five year old could be cuter.

"I was just thinking."

Lily, being the kid she was, accepted this answer and promptly moved on. Danny on the other hand, looked sadly at her, for what reason she couldn't tell. He didn't have anything to do with it after all…

"Daddy, Mommy!" Lily squealed excitedly, "Look who's on TV!"

The parents looked at the television screen to see a clip of Phantom and the Red Hunter from a fight earlier on in the week.

"On Amity News Broadcasting, I'm Saiit Aul." Said the middle aged newscaster, "Right here we see Phantom and the Red Hunter. These two are part of perhaps the biggest controversy ever in the history of Amity. First there's Phantom. Is he friend or foe? Why does he fight his own brethren? Is it a ploy? Or a genuine concern for the welfare of our city? Then comes the Red Hunter. Who is she really? Why does she fight Phantom with such vigor? We'll reveal our suspicions at eight o'clock tonight! So don't miss it!

"In related news, studies have shown that the rate of ghost attacks have dropped rapidly in the past few years. In fact, with the exception of the plots of the Wisconsin Ghost, the only appearances in the past month have been made by Amity Park's own haunt, Phantom."

Danny quickly turned off the television at the odd look on his wife's face. He didn't want her to get into one of her moods…over him no less. To tell the truth, it was a bit of a strain for him to be married to the person hell-bent on trying to capture him, but it worked out somehow. Besides, he couldn't be happier with any other woman.

"Daddy!" His daughter whined, "Why did you turn it off?"

He grinned merrily at her, "Because it's time to take you and your Mommy to dinner."

"We're going out for dinner?" Valerie asked, confused.

"Why of course," He answered with an indefinable look in his eyes, "You _do_ know it's your birthday, don't you?"

She gasped. The past few days had been so hectic, that she had completely blanked out.

"No…" She answered slowly, "I didn't."

He gave her a tender smile, knowing what she was putting herself through. Tonight though, he'd work his hardest to take his wife's mind from her worries. She deserved it for all she had done for him.

"Well you better hurry and get dressed than; we're going to that really fancy restaurant whose name I can never pronounce." He turned to Lily, "And that goes for you too."

Less than an hour later found them in the parking lot, walking towards what was supposed to be a relaxing, fun night for the three of them. It's funny in a sort of twisted way how wrong things turned out.

_Look with eyes unseeing_

_Listen without hearing_

_Life is sofly screaming_

_**Death is sure to come**_

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Wellllll…Here's my latest story direct from my crazy mind. Please tell me what you think.

Oh, and just to warn you, later on there's going to be some really heart-breaking stuff…or just depressing. However you look at it.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Here I am with the next chapter! I thank all those who gave reviews and I hope all of you people enjoy this next installment!

Shameless Advertising: If anyone wants to, you can read my other DP fanfics.

Disclaimer: I am quite sure that I do not own Danny Phantom, which means that I have retained some semblance of sanity.

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Life's Soft Screaming

Ch. 2

Nothing went right, nothing at all. Of course, nothing is ever really normal or easyfor long for Danny or Valerie. Trouble and undesirable circumstances seem to haunt them, never leaving them for a span longer than a day or two, and that was if they were lucky. It just happened to be one of those unlucky days.

"Mom!" Lily whined, "They gave me this nasty salad instead of my soup!"

Valerie sighed, seeing as her own order was similarly messed up. In fact, so was Danny's. They managed to survive by trading their meals with each other, but the whole calming effect was irreparably ruined. Then, Danny had tried to order desert. That was a disaster in and of itself. Add to that the fact that the waiter seemed to hate Danny with a passion andseemingly no other reason thanto be nasty.

The night just kept getting worse.

The waiter purposely bumped the candle on his way to another table, making Valerie's hair catch on fire. The lady sitting at the table behind her got her hair caught on fire too. The resulting chaos would be too horrifying to describe, but in the end, a very unhappy Fenton family got kicked out of the fancy restaurant where they were supposed to be having a relaxing dinner for Valerie's birthday.

"Happy birthday to me." Valerie said sarcastically, putting her head in her hands, her slightly singed hair falling limply about.

Danny put her arm around her and picked up Lily.

"We'll just go somewhere else." He said consolingly, although he had his doubts that the night would get any better.

Valerie gave him a weak smile and pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks for trying. At least we know never to go there again."

"Yeah, what was that guy's problem?" He frowned slightly.

"Hey, don't worry. He's just an idiot."

They soon got into their car and Danny drove off around town in pursuit of a better place to eat. Valerie was looking out the window, lost in her own world again. That is, until the car swerved, almost making Valerie do a face plant in the glass.

"Wha-?" She asked, turning rapidly around to face her husband.

He had turned into a parking lot at the last minuet, cutting off a few cars in the process. He quickly parked in an open spot, and hopped out of the car.

"Uh, I just realized I need to go to the restroom." He spouted off before practically running to the nearest store.

She didn't have much time to ponder his behavior before her ghost radar started to warn her. She immediately changed into her Hunter form, and remembering her child, she gave some orders.

"Stay in the car and don't let anyone but me or Danny in, okay?"

"Okay mommy." Came the reply.

With that assurance, Valerie shot up into the sky, looking for the nearby ghost that the radar picked up. A loud crash caught her attention, and she zoomed over the building as quickly and silently as she could. Hopefully, she wouldn't mess this one up too.

Yep, just another one of those unlucky days.

Once again, after an extremely tiring battle for the both of the participants, Phantom managed to escape once more. Phantom did not escape unscathed, however, being wounded with a nasty gash in his left arm. He managed to disappear in the torrent of dust caused by his crash landing in the dirt plot where construction workers had been preparing to build a store before they considered self-preservation the highest priority.

Valerie had sprinted to the car and was in the passenger seat just before Danny came out of the store, looking a bit disheveled, handling his left arm gingerly. Not like his wife had the energy to notice. Their child sat moodily in the back because she wasn't able to see the battle even though she heard it.

So there they all sat, moody, and all in various stages of depression, having one of those trying days were nothing ever seems to go right. That was only the tip of the iceberg. As Danny haphazardly shot out of the parking spot in reverse, a scream sounded behind them, almost too soft to be heard. It was as if the scream was half-hearted, like the fear was feigned, and death would be a pleasing alternative to the reality that the human creature was living in. The scream was more out of habit than anything else.

Almost at once, Danny's infamous superhero complex kicked into high gear. He immediately tapped the gas and braked the car, slamming the door open at the same time in his haste to help the unfortunate victim of his sloppy driving. He nearly fell over turning around his car. He froze in inconceivable surprise at the woman lying on her back at his feet. When Valerie didn't even hear a sound by what she judged was a long time, she got out of the car and walked over to her husband. When she saw him standing stock still, not even twitching, she laid her hand gently on his shoulder and asked what was wrong. A small frown flitted over her features when a response was lacking. She followed his gaze, and she froze herself. Now he was completely justified in his unresponsive stupor. For in front of them was the one woman they had thought they would never meet again, and one Danny had never wished to.

"Hey, mommy?" Lily asked, coming around the other side of the car to stare curiously at the strange woman on the floor.

"Yes, sweetie?" Valerie answered dazedly.

"Who's this?" The little girl's eyes were still fixed on the ebony haired woman.

Valerie glanced at Danny before replying grimly."That's Samantha…Samantha Manson."

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Okay. The next one's finally out. If you think this chapter's a little short, then I'd have to agree with you. Very sorry about that, but I am extremely short on time…So I would reallylovefor you all to review! Criticism is welcomed. I'd love honest opinions and pointers to help make my story better. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

For those that have been waiting, be happy, I've finally gotten my brain working and writing again. This next chapter is ready for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks to all of the reviewers! You people make me so happy!

Shameless Advertising: I'd really love it if you people read my other DP stories…

Disclaimer: I do not live in a mental hospital, therefore I will not claim that I own Danny Phantom…I'd much rather not be thrown into a straitjacket or have all my money sucked out of me.

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Life's Soft Screaming

Ch. 3

In the blackened sky of a night without the moon, the stars shone brightly, hanging suspended in the weightlessness of space. A lone figure sitting on a park bench stared vacantly up into the mesmerizing twinkles of light. The black hair was ratty, as though it hadn't been brushed for a few days, possibly more. There was no evidence of an expression on her face except for the slight crinkling at the corners of her mouth which was almost impossible to see in the almost nonexistent lighting. The street light had burnt out just an hour ago. The young woman took in a shallow breath of air and shuddered it out. She angrily shook her head and shot up out of the bench as if it had scorched her. With brisk, yet weak steps, she started to walk.

Within fifteen minuets, the young woman was already exhausted, her steps starting to falter and her form starting to sway. It was to be expected, she hadn't eaten for days. Before, she had always had regular meals. It was something she had to get used to, however, if she wanted to keep living.

But she wasn't sure she wanted to anymore.

She practically collapsed when she reached the edge of the parking lot. With trembling hands she pushed back the long sleeve of her sweatshirt up to her elbow. She raised it up to bathe it in the warm glow of the streetlamp. Her amethyst eyes watched in fascination as they traveled along the exposed lines of her veins; they were a starting blue against the pale pallor of her skin. She traced a slender finger along the channels of her blood, contemplating how, with demented ease; she could end her life just by inflicting one, deep cut against those lines along her wrist.

Her pondering was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering at her feet. With the slightest hint of curiosity, she leaned over her legs and squinted in the darkness where the light couldn't reach. When she still couldn't distinguish the thing that had so rudely jarred her out of her musing, she extended a hand forward, groping for the source of the disturbance. With a small hiss, she jerked her hand back to nurse the small cut the object had given her. With a bit more care, she reached out once again, and this time, brought a jagged shard of glass up to the light. It was apparently from a beer bottle she had accidentally crushed with one of her massive boots. It was so typical for a drunk to litter…

With a grim smile, she watched the small drop of blood on the glass shimmer in the yellow light. She had thought about suicide on and off for awhile, but she had either dismissed the thought as stupid or she hadn't had the guts to do it. Now though, it didn't seem so absurd.

It wasn't like she had anything to live for anymore.

Her friends? There weren't any left anymore.

Her boyfriend? He's the one that got her into this mess and then just left her.

Her parents? Why would they care? They were the ones that disowned her and kicked her out of the house the moment they heard the pregnancy test results.

Her baby? No…it would be much better if the child didn't see the light of day. It would be better not to have it exposed to the cruel aspects of the world. Life just wasn't worth it. It wouldn't even leave her womb.

No one cared for her anymore, no one would cry when she died. She wouldn't even have a funeral for no one to come to. From all angles, she was a homeless bum that would stop taking up valuable space once she died.

She gently held the sharp glass to her left wrist, biting her lip for a moment at the odd feeling. Her head rose up to the sky for one last look.

She froze.

There in the sky flew the alter ego of the one man she had come to despise. With hardened eyes and thinned lips, she glared at the battle playing out before her. It was a little disorienting at first to see how much he had matured in his looks since the last time she saw him, but she soon got over it. She glanced over at the Red Hunter with slightly less hatred in her eyes, but none the less, it was not a kind look. She watched with distain as Phantom smashed into the dirt. Her eyes did widen, however, when he stepped out of the store, in a suit out of all things. His growth was more shocking in his human form, and she would never have guessed he would take to wearing suits. He had always hated them when they were friends.

Then again, so much could change in the span of time she had been gone.

Her interest was further awakened when he walked toward the same car Valerie had jumped into before she transformed. She shakily pushed herself off of the ground and stumbled over to the car, there were only two in the vacant lot.

She gasped with she looked through the back window. In the seat, sulking in a sickeningly adorable fashion was a little girl, almost a perfect mix between Valerie and Danny. With a jolt, she realized.

They were married.

She was so consumed by her shock, that she didn't even notice the car start to go in reverse. She felt the impact and let out a pathetically half-hearted scream. Before she knew it, she lay on the ground. She could barely think through the pain, and her vision was foggy. She could just faintly hear the high pitched sound of the little girl asking,

"Hey mommy?"

Valerie's voice answered, "Yes sweetie?"

Sam felt a vague sense of disgust at the motherly tone.

"Who's this?"

She heard the silence. Valerie was hesitant as she replied grimly, "That's Samantha,"

She used her full name; Valerie knew she hated it…

"Samantha Manson."

Before she blacked out, she felt a surge of annoyance. She had been kept from deathly bliss by this little piece of hell come to get her? She knew already that the injuries she had sustained wouldn't kill her. Unconsciousness gripped her before she could dwell on her disappointment.

Their reunion was worse than she dared to imagine.

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I am so happy. I was a bit stuck at the beginning, but I think it worked out alright.

What do you think? Please tell me! I want to hear your honest opinion.

Thanks so much for reading!


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